Timeline of the Space Shuttle Program
a list of places
Share- Wednesday, January 5, 1972
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On Jan. 5, 1972, President Nixon met with NASA Administrator James Fletcher and Deputy Administrator George Low to announce the final shuttle decision at his western White House in San Clemente, California. -
- Friday, September 17, 1976
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On September 17, 1976, Enterprise (designated OV-101) was rolled out of Rockwell's plant at Palmdale, California. The first orbiter was originally planned to be named Constitution, but a massive write-in campaign from fans of the Star Trek television series convinced the White House to change the name to Enterprise. In recognition of its fictional namesake, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and most of the principal cast of the original series of Star Trek were on hand at the dedication ceremony. -
- Monday, January 31, 1977
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Edwards Air Force BaseCA | (661) 277-1110
On January 31, 1977, the space shuttle Enterprise was taken by road from Palmdale to the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base to begin operational testing. While at NASA Dryden, Enterprise was used by NASA for a variety of ground and flight tests intended to validate aspects of the shuttle program. The initial nine-month testing period was referred to by the acronym ALT, for Approach and Landing Test. These tests included a maiden flight on February 18, 1977 atop a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) to measure structural loads and ground handling and braking characteristics of the mated system.
Enterprise, which was used for atmospheric test flights but not intended for orbital flight, had many parts taken out for use on the other orbiters. It was later visually restored and is on display at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia, just outside of Washington D.C. - Sunday, April 12, 1981
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John F. Kennedy Space CenterHeadquarters Building 1301, Kennedy Spc Ctr, FL | (321) 867-3615
On April 12, 1981, the Space Shuttle Columbia was launched with a crew of two. April 12 was the 20th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's historic space flight. Space Shuttle Columbia orbited the Earth 37 times during the 54.5-hour mission. It was the first American manned space flight since the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project on 15 July 1975 and was the only US manned maiden test flight of a new spacecraft system. - Tuesday, April 14, 1981
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Edwards Air Force BaseCA | (661) 277-1110
Columbia returned on April 14, 1981, landing on the dry lakebed runway at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Columbia then undertook three further research missions to test its technical characteristics and performance. Its first operational mission, with a four-man crew, was STS-5, which launched on November 11, 1982. At this point Columbia was joined by Challenger, which performed the next three shuttle missions, while Columbia underwent modifications for the first Spacelab mission. - Tuesday, March 30, 1982
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In March 1982, The White Sands Space Harbor was used during the landing of STS-3 Space Shuttle Columbia , which included some dramatic pilot induced oscillations just before nose gear tuchdown (see video). After the STS-3 landing, WSSH became an emergency landing site, and the U.S. Congress designated the facility as the White Sands Space Harbor. -
- Tuesday, October 15, 1985
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On October 15, 1985, the Space Launch Complex-6 (SLC-6, nicknamed Slick Six) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California was declared operational. It was originally designed for the launching of the Titan III, and was later rebuilt for the Space Shuttle. The inaugural shuttle flight, designated STS-62-A, was planned for October 15, 1986. However, the Challenger Disaster of January 28, 1986 grounded the Shuttle fleet as efforts were concentrated on recovery and returning the shuttle program to flight. -
- Tuesday, January 28, 1986
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John F. Kennedy Space CenterHeadquarters Building 1301, Kennedy Spc Ctr, FL | (321) 867-3615
On Tuesday, January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The disaster resulted in a 32-month hiatus in the shuttle program and the formation of the Rogers Commission, a special commission appointed by United States President Ronald Reagan to investigate the accident.
- Friday, January 31, 1986
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Johnson Space Center2101 Nasa Parkway, Houston, Texas | (281) 483-0123
On January 31, 1986, a memorial service is held for the Challenger astronauts at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. -
- Tuesday, May 20, 1986
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The remains of the Challenger crew that were identifiable were returned to their families on April 29, 1986. Two of the crew members, Dick Scobee and posthumously promoted Capt. Michael J. Smith, were buried by their families at Arlington National Cemetery at individual grave sites. Mission Specialist Lt Col Ellison Onizuka was buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. Unidentified crew remains were buried communally at the Space Shuttle Challenger Memorial in Arlington on May 20, 1986. -
- Thursday, September 29, 1988
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John F. Kennedy Space CenterHeadquarters Building 1301, Kennedy Spc Ctr, FL | (321) 867-3615
On September 29, 1988, Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center on the Return To Flight mission, 975 days after the Challenger disaster. This was the first mission to use the original Space Transportation System numbering system since STS-9, and the first to have all crew members wearing pressure suits for launch and landing since STS-4. STS-26 was also the first all-veteran crew (flown at least one prior mission) mission since Apollo 11. - Thursday, December 2, 1993
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John F. Kennedy Space CenterHeadquarters Building 1301, Kennedy Spc Ctr, FL | (321) 867-3615
On December 2, 1993, Space Shuttle Endeavour launched for one of the most memorable missions in program history - the repair of the Hubble Space Telescope. On January 13, 1994, NASA declared the mission a complete success and showed the first of many much sharper images. At the time, the mission had been one of the most complex ever undertaken, involving five lengthy periods of extra-vehicular activity, and its resounding success was an enormous boon for NASA, as well as for the astronomers who now had a fully capable space telescope. -
- Saturday, February 1, 2003
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On February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in the death of all seven crew members. The loss of Columbia was a result of damage sustained during launch when a piece of foam insulation the size of a small briefcase broke off from the Space Shuttle external tank (the main propellant tank) under the aerodynamic forces of launch. The debris struck the leading edge of the left wing, damaging the Shuttle's thermal protection system (TPS), which shields it from heat generated with the atmosphere during re-entry. - Friday, March 7, 2003
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In March of 2003, several members of the 7-person Columbia crew were buried at Arlington National Cemetery, where a memorial was placed next to the one honoring the Challenger crew. -
- Thursday, February 24, 2011
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John F. Kennedy Space CenterHeadquarters Building 1301, Kennedy Spc Ctr, FL | (321) 867-3615
February 24, 2011, the final flight of Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-133). -
- Thursday, May 26, 2011
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John F. Kennedy Space CenterHeadquarters Building 1301, Kennedy Spc Ctr, FL | (321) 867-3615
May 26, 2011, the final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-134). -
- Friday, July 8, 2011
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John F. Kennedy Space CenterHeadquarters Building 1301, Kennedy Spc Ctr, FL | (321) 867-3615
July 8, 2011, the final flight of Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-135) and the final flight of the Space Shuttle program. The Kennedy Space Center will also be the home of the Space Shuttle Atlantis once it is retired. -
- Tuesday, April 17, 2012
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Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center14390 Air & Space Museum Pkwy, Chantilly, Virginia | (703) 572-4118
The Space Shuttle Discovery will be displayed at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (part of the Smithsonian Air & Space museum) in Chantilly, VA upon retirement. Currently the Space Shuttle Enterprise is housed here and will be moved.
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The Space Shuttle Enterprise will be housed at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City. -
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California Science Center700 Exposition Park Drive, Los Angeles, CA | (323) 724-3623
Space Shuttle Endeavour will be moved to the California Science Center in Los Angeles, CA upon its retirement. -
- total distance: 17,540 miles (28.228 km)
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